The Thought Book 2: Book Review & Interview With Jay Mullings

Over on Twitter, I really enjoy posting inspirational tweets in the hopes that it encourages someone and brightens their day. After posting one particular tweet, I was messaged by Jay Mullings, author of The Thought Book 2, suggesting that if I like these kinda things, I should check out his book. Being the impulsive kinda girl that I am, I did, and a short while later I had my very own personalized copy in my hands.

As well as being the author of The Thought Book series, Jay is a blogger andscreenwriter (winning 25+ awards internationally) and with a 2019 novel in the pipeline, it seems he always has an exciting & creative project on the go. Jay has written many philosophical quotes, poetry, travel related articles, sports analysis and music interviews. I was excited to read his book and hear some of the wisdom he had to share.

Even though it seems like Jay is a busy guy, he still made time to write a personalized note inside my book in my favourite colour, PINK! I was really touched by the sweet and thoughtful message. The book itself is packed full of inspirational thoughts designed to inspire, motivate and lift your spirits. I love that you can just open up a page at random and read something positive on topics like growth, self-belief, confidence, individuality, perseverance, overcoming obstacles and reaching your full potential. As this is exactly my kinda book, I thought it would be cool to add in a little interview with the man himself.

Questions for Jay:

Hi Jay, Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, I really appreciate it. So my first question is: describe yourself in 3 words.

Enigmatic, Truthful and Creative.

What has been your proudest achievement so far?

Wow, I’m like Ryu in Street Fighter; as soon as one challenge is complete I begin setting the next one. Hard to choose, but I guess it would be winning The Barcelona Film Festival in three consecutive years for three completely different screenplays. Tree House (Coming of Age TV Drama), Feminunity (Feature Length Film) and The Boys Are Back (British Comedy).

Wowzers, those are some pretty big achievements. If you wrote an autobiography, what would the title be? If it was made into a film, who would play you?

Truthful Fearless Creativity – Denzel is getting a little old and I’m more handsome than Idris (just playing). Truthfully I like a few actors the most suitable would probably be Daniel Kaluuya I think he would be able to put himself in my shoes a bit better. Although John Boyega would most likely mirror my accent the best.

Haha well it starts at night and stays dark until I say when! Seriously though, I’d say warm with a gentle breeze for the weather. No traffic, not a single red light on my journey. Free parking, deserted tennis courts and my first serve working. Come home to my place tidy as ever, curry goat and rice for dinner. Strawberry cheesecake for dessert, some PS4 games I wasn’t expecting on the store for free! 12 year old Single malt whiskey on my wind down and a decent movie with sweet and salt popcorn. How’s that? Okay I’m not done, 3 hours of crystal clear writing and a neck and shoulder massage with some sweet reggae music in the background. PERFECT!

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE. Yes please! A massage with reggae music sounds proper chilled, I like your style. This sounds like an awesome day! If you could invite any famous person around for dinner, who would it be and what would you cook them?

First of all why must I cook? It’s my dream coming true so dammit they better not come empty handed! My first answer would be Bob Marley! I don’t know what exactly he eats but we’d work it out. If it’s someone alive, I’m going with Missy Misdemeanour Elliot and she gets whatever she likes to eat no problem!

Ha ha! Good answer, maybe you and Bob could get a takeaway! What advice would you give to others out there who are thinking of writing a book but don’t know where to start?

Jump off the cliff and worry about landing later. Honestly, you can paralyse your own growth by not taking the bull by the horns so to speak. Start writing, start thinking about form and when it’s good enough; then you worry about publishing, agents, so on and so forth. Get on with writing and start teaching fear to obey your commands, if you let it grow it will never let you go…

Great advice! As you are also a blogger, can you share any tips on how to stay motivated and inspired? What do you do when you are feeling stuck for new ideas?

Yeah sure read my blog! Ha! Staying motivated is less about force and more about observation. Learn the depths of your own thoughts and feelings. It will tell when you can press forward at max power and when to nurse it through. No one is 100% on all the time but you can still be productive if you understand how to channel these feelings. The second part of your question; I can’t relate I’m never stuck for ideas. Not even joking I almost have too many at once. Books, Screenplays, Blogs, Clothing, Films etc. If I was to run out of ideas I would go back to the beginning of my old ones and flesh them out more or write the counter to them.

Sounds like there is always something exciting happening! And finally, if you could tempt people to read your book by sharing just one thought from The Thought Book 2, which one would it be?

Ha! You do like to ask these tough questions. There are so many good thoughts and perspectives in The Thought Book 2 and instead I think what would be nice is for you as a reader Bexa to do the honours. Is that cheating? I don’t think so! On a serious level, I wrote it with the people that are reading it in mind. It’s less about ME and so much more about YOU! Those thoughts helped ME but what really would swell my heart, is if they somehow helped YOU! That’s why I give a unique inscription and page dedication to every book I sign. People have said I have an almost psychic level ability to pick ones that mean something to them.

I hope this helps Bexa! Can I just say thank you for extending the courtesy of inviting my onto your blog and also for your kind support. This blogging community is really amazing and it is even richer for having a beautiful soul like you aboard! Keep up the great work and thanks again!

Thank you so much Jay! Of course, there are so many thoughts I love, but this one is my favourite:

If are impulsive like me, you can grab yourself a copy of The Thought Book 2 right now by clicking here. Don’t forget to check out The Written Mirror and follow Jay on social media: Twitter / Instagram / Facebook to keep up to date with all his latest creative projects.

I was not aware of The Thought Book Series. I love books that inspire, motivate & lift your spirits. I loved Jay’s thoughts about blogging and getting stuck. Know when to press forward with max power or just nurse it. I will be checking out The Thought Book Series to find my favorite inspirations from Jay.

This looks like such a lovely book, it’s always nice to have something nearby to cheer you up or add a bit of positive motivation to your day! Love that you added in an interview with the author too, so neat to learn a bit more behind the people who write the books we like!

Jay’s book sounds very motivational 😄. I like inspirational quotes and it’s great you can open a page at random and read some wise words 👌🏻. You did an excellent interview and it was interesting to hear his thoughts on motivation too 😊. A brilliant post Bexa 😄😍💖😘 xxxx

It’s good to be impulsive sometimes ;). Wow! Jay is such a big hit! Love that he made an effort to write a personalized note to you. OMG!!! Free parking is the best – haha. I know that would make my day, along with not having to deal with traffic @__@. I like the advice – I mean not literally jump off the cliff but get something going on. I feel like that’s the hardest part in any activity, just starting it. Thanks for sharing this interview, Bexa!!

Thank you so much Nancy! 💖 He he, yes! Free parking is always such a good thing! I was really touched by the sweet note and glad Jay took the time to answer my questions. Glad you enjoyed the post lovely 💖☺️ xx

Glad you enjoyed it! Yes at the very least I know Bob is bringing his guitar and some herbal healing to the dinner party for sure! Missy is such a lovely person that I have no doubt I’d grow just basking in her aura! Oh and she’s probably bringing her dog Ms Fendi Dior with her!

Wow, good job, Jay! I love when people from our Twitter community are interviewed, it’s always so interesting to discover the person behind the tweets.
Nice post, Bexa! I’m super jealous of those postcards, too

WOW Bexa this post couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I was just debating on writing a ebook but had no idea where to start or what to write. Jay’s interview taught me don’t think, just go. The more we analyze an idea the less likely we are to go through with it. I’m so happy to learn more about him, motivational books are always helpful in teaching people how to accomplish their goals metally first.

Wow I’m definitely happy to see the interview went down well! That and so many of you love CHEESECAKE! Let’s all be friends lmao!
Seriously though thank you again Bexa for being curious enough to pick up a copy of my book and again for inviting me to interview here.
To everyone else, I definitely look forward to writing your personalised inscriptions! Let me know your favourite colour via twitter or Instagram @writtenmirror and I’ll do my best to accommodate.

This is such a thoughtful interview, love the sound of the ideal day! I think Inspirational quotes can be so great at getting us creatives to make stuff, sometimes you just need that little push. Great interview Bexa x
Alyshttps://alysjournals.com